Israel Adesanya to defend UFC middleweight title against Marvin Vettori this summer; winner expected to face Robert Whittaker

Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is set to defend his title against Marvin Vettori in a rematch. The promotion is aiming to book a rematch between Adesanya and Vettori, with the winner expected to face Robert Whittaker.

According to an initial report from Combate - later confirmed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA - Israel Adesanya will be returning to the Octagon for the UFC pay-per-view scheduled for June 12th.

Standing across Adesanya inside the cage will be a man whom he has beaten in the past, Marvin Vettori. The Italian Dream has been on a winning run in the UFC and his last loss in the promotion was against Adesanya a few years ago.

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Following Vettori's recent wins over top contenders like Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland, the Italian called for a rematch against Adesanya.

While it did seem initially that the UFC would grant Whittaker a shot ahead of Vettori, the promotion eventually decided to move forward with a rematch between Adesanya and Vettori.

At UFC Vegas 24, Robert Whittaker secured his third straight win inside the Octagon after dropping the UFC middleweight title to Adesanya in 2019.

Whittaker hasn't received a shot at reclaiming his title yet. But with three consecutive wins on his record, The Reaper will get his crack at gold when he faces the winner of Adesanya vs. Vettori II.

Marvin Vettori confident about ending Israel Adesanya's middleweight title reign

Israel Adesanya established his place as the king of the middleweight division when he beat Robert Whittaker to win the 185-lbs title at UFC 243. Before winning the belt from Whittaker, Izzy had secured a victory over Vettori via decision.

Ever since losing to Adesanya, Vettori has repeatedly claimed his fight against the reigning UFC middleweight champion was incredibly close. Vettori reckons he is more than capable of getting the job done in a rematch between against The Last Stylebender.

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Quick Links

Edited by Zaid Khan
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications